Finding Roots, Making Ties
by Cobaltwaryear
Summary: Volker is a teen with more angst than most, Reina wants to go out on an adventure, and Alex just wants to know who he is. Three kids from different families, with completely different lives. But a chance encounter brings them together, and it turns out that they share a common connection. All three of them are the children of Unova's champion, Ash Ketchum. Warnings inside!
1. Chapter 1

Finding Roots, Making Ties

Summary:Volker is a teen with more angst than most, Reina wants to go out on an adventure, and Alex just wants to know who he is. Three kids from different families, with completely different lives. But a chance encounter brings them together, and it turns out that they share a common trait. They all have a connection to one Ash Ketchum. Warnings: Future fic, slight adult themes & language.

A/N: This idea just appeared on my mind and I just had to write it down and try it out.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

* * *

Chapter 1

Volker was like any other teen, he liked listening to loud music, enjoyed hanging out with his friends, and of course he had a lot of angst like most people his age. He had jet black hair, ocean blue eyes, and was of an average height for a thirteen year old boy. He lived in New Bark Town with his family and he came from a single parent household. When he was one, his father had left them only to return four years later and even stuck around for a few days before leaving again to who knows where.

But then it turns out that his father's return in those few days were enough to get his mom pregnant with his younger sister, Violetta. But even though their family grew, his father didn't bother to return home. Now, it's been seven years since they've last seen or heard of him. So it was the biggest understatement of the year to say that he had a little bit of animosity towards his father. But don't get him wrong, he had a pretty good childhood, all things considered.

His mom was Marina, Johto's Coordinator queen and three time winner of the Grand Festival, at least before she retired. Now, she works as one of the judges for Pokemon contests and the Grand Festival in the Johto region. The downside to her job kept her away from home a lot, but every summer she'd take them with her on her job. So they got to travel through Johto, watch and go backstage at contests, and meet a lot of new people and Pokemon while they were on the road with their mom.

His life in New Bark town hadn't been bad. He grew up in a nice house, it wasn't too big, but it had a homey feel to it that he loved. He lived with his mom and sister, but usually it was just him and Violetta in the house. When they were younger, their grandmothers would take care of them when their mom wasn't home since they were both living in the same town. But a few years back, his paternal grandma Elinor, suddenly and unexpectedly died.

So it was now only grandma Meg who checked up on them from time to time. He went to Pokemon Trainer elementary; and instead of going on a journey at the age of ten like other kids, he stayed for three more years at Pokemon Graduate School, or just Poke Grad School. It was just like high school, and it was an optional three year school for kids who finished Pokemon Elementary. It just taught you additional knowledge on the other regions and had classes like first aid, foresting, and Survival 101.

This new kind of education system was introduced exclusively in the Johto region in response to the growing number of new trainers getting into accidents, or at worse case, dying during their first year out into the wild. While three out of four new trainers still decided to go on their journey by age ten, he decided not to risk it, much to his mother and grandmother's relief. But two thirds of the students who were enrolled in Poke Grad School were just signed up by their parents.

You could say that the school's majority was made up of angry and angsty teenagers, who feel like they were cheated when they weren't able to start their Pokemon journeys. So some teens who had more excess anger than most, became juvenile delinquents and the bullies at school. Volker was no bully, but he did get into trouble for occasionally getting into fights. It wasn't his fault that the bullies wanted to mess with him and his friends, and it's not like those guys do it when the teachers were around.

Even if they did try to report them to the teacher, no one would believe them since they were already labeled as trouble makers and the bullies were part of the honor role. So he and his friends fought back. He was a lot of things, slightly deferential to authority, sarcastic, insensitive and rude at times, yes, but he was no coward and he wasn't going to take to being bullied lying down. His mom disapproved of violence, but she's seen the kind of place Poke Grad School is, so she doesn't comment on it much.

But when she finds out that he was in another fight, she does give him a look that never fails to make him feel guilty. So in order to appease her he tried to do better at school, which he was able to accomplish to an extent. But studies can only take up some of his time, so he took on a part time job so his mom would be able to rest a bit easier knowing that he wasn't going out and getting into trouble. He worked as a helper at professor Elm's, who was an old family friend of theirs.

His job was to help take care of the Pokemon living there and to help the Professor out with his research and stuff. Nothing too dangerous, mostly menial work but he still liked his job. It was really cool to play with the younger Pokemon at the labs, and he even made friends with the older ones. But another perk to his job was when a starting trainer went to the lab for their first Pokemon. Seeing the happy faces of trainer and Pokemon as they became a team for the first time was pretty rewarding in its own way.

He was also able to meet trainers from different regions because a lot of them went to Professor Elm's lab to get signed up for the Johto league. All in all, things weren't that bad for him and school wasn't always torture. There were a lot nice people there too, not to mention his best friends were there as well. But things were going to get even better for him soon, because in a few months it would be summer. But unlike his sister, he wouldn't be going to travel with his mom this year.

This was already his final year in Poke Grad School and he was going to graduate, which meant that he could finally start his Pokemon journey this summer. The only bad thing was that he wouldn't be traveling with his friends, because he planned to start his journey in another region. It wasn't that he hated Johto or anything, and he did want to journey in his home region… But somehow the prospect of crossing the sea and traveling in a far away region he's never been to, really appealed to him.

* * *

"Volk, hey Volk!" His eyes snapped open before he groggily raised his head to see a pair of steel colored eyes looking down at him. "Oh, hey Logan. Is class over yet?" He asked with a yawn as he slowly sat up from where he was hunched over his desk. A small giggle could be heard to his right and when he turned he saw another of his friends standing beside his desk. "Volk, class isn't just over. The whole school day is over. You slept through both Mr. Hayden and Mr. Preston's lectures."

"You feeling bad or something?" A new voice asked as Volker looked over at the person entering the classroom. "Nah, I was just up all night watching videos of League matches." He answered as he slowly stood from his seat before getting his bag from where it was hooked on his chair. "Which matches did you watch, Volk?" Volker hummed in thought before slinging his backpack on his shoulder. "Just the videos of the matches from last year's Johto and Kanto league finals. By the way, where's Van, Bailey?"

"Van had to go help Olivia out and told us to go ahead." Bailey, a girl who looked the same age as him with long blond hair and indigo colored eyes, answered. Volker nodded as they wordlessly left the classroom and headed for the school's exit. "But can you believe it, one more week and we'll finally be able to start our Pokemon journeys." Logan said, his eyes twinkling in excitement. "We got to take the final exams next week and pass before that though." The other male teen replied evenly and Logan frowned.

"Don't remind me Seth, you know I'm not exactly looking forward to Ms. Druud's math test. Ugh! Why do we still need to study normal subjects, not like we'll need it when we're on our journeys!" He groaned which caused his other three companions to chuckle slightly. "You should get tutored by Seth then, he's a pretty good teacher in math." Bailey suggested as Logan started to vehemently shake his head. "Oh, no, no, no! Never again! I still have nightmares from last time!"

"Just what did you do to him anyways, dude?" Volker asked as he looked at the slightly smaller male next to him with black hair and sea green eyes. "I didn't do anything to him; he's just being a baby." Seth retorted. "I only made him answer a few problem sheets." Logan then took this time to point an accusing finger at Seth. "Few problem sheets my butt, you made me answer a whole stack! It took me all night to answer everything, you drill sergeant!"

"Did I now? I forgot." Seth answered, unruffled by his friend's words before walking further ahead of the group as Logan stood gaping at his back. Volker placed a comforting hand on Logan's shoulder before speaking. "Well look at the bright side, at least you passed that math quiz." He said as Bailey added, "That's right, you were even bragging to us that it was your all time personal best score in math." Logan closed his mouth, opened it and closed it again. "Oh forget it!" He shouted before trudging forward.

Just as they were about to reach the exit of the school building, a voice called out to them. "Hey guys, wait up!" The group turned back to see a girl with long red hair tied in a one sided pony tail running over to where they were. "Hey Van, done helping Olivia already?" Bailey asked as the other girl reached them. "Yeah, she just needed some help with finalizing the articles for next weeks' school newspaper." She answered as the group began to leave the building and headed to their respective homes.

"Oh yeah, next week will be the last time you'll be printing newspapers for the year before we all graduate." Logan said before stopping and looking back at his friends with a grin. "So you guys decided which one you'll choose as your first Pokemon?" He asked before continuing. "For sure, I'm choosing Cyndaquill." He said as Van sighed. "Yes, yes, we know. You've told us ever since we were just in Pokemon kindergarten. You're dream is to open up a fire Pokemon gym in Johto right?"

"That's right! There's just nothing like the power of a fire Pokemon! I just don't get why there isn't a fire Pokemon gym in Johto in the first place." He replied as he scratched the back of his head when he said the last part. "Well fire Pokemon aren't really easy to raise considering the amount of power they have, but if Blaine, Flannary and Chili were able to do it, why can't you?" Volker told him before adding. "But as for my first Pokemon, that's way too hard of a question."

"I've spent years taking care of a lot of the starters in Johto, and I just can't pick between Chikorita, Totodile and Cyndaquil." He said before Seth spoke up. "Well, I can see why you're in a dilemma. But after thinking about it a lot, I just recently decided that I'll go with Totodile." He said, before he and Volker shared a fist bump. "Great choice, man. The Totodiles at Professor Elm's are really amazing Pokemon." He said before turning to the girls in their group. "How about you two? You guys fancy a Totodile?"

But Bailey only shook her head. "I love Totodiles and all, but it's Chikorita for me." She told them. "Maybe I'll pick Totodile, but Cyndaquil is a really good Pokemon too..." Van trailed off. "This is hard, I can think of a lot of move combinations with either of them." She said as Bailey giggled. "As expected from someone aiming to be top coordinator, you're already thinking up of move combinations for your contests." She said as Van playfully retorted. "Well you need to start early with these things."

"But it's the same for you too right, Bailey? Your dream is to be a Pokemon Breeder and I've seen you reading books on breeding in your spare time." She added as Logan nodded his head. "That makes sense, but what I don't get is why you're going to go on a journey and not just heading to Pokemon med school after we graduate, Seth." He said as Seth gave him a look. "Even Pokemon doctors need experience out on the field and with different Pokemon, Logan." He answered in a tone as if he was explaining something to a five year old.

"What better way is there to get firsthand experience with Pokemon than going on a journey?" He said as Bailey nodded her head as if to agree with him, before a frown appeared on her face. "It's a shame that you won't be joining us on our journey, Volk." She said in a slightly sad tone. "Volk, are you absolutely sure you don't want to travel with us?" Van asked as the said teen stopped in his tracks which prompted the others to stop moving too.

"It's not that I don't want to travel with you guys, because I do want to. It's just that, I can't really explain it very well… But you know the feeling of staring out at the sea and wondering what lies beyond it, it's kind of like that. Even if we learn about the different regions in school it's another thing altogether to go there. It's like there's always something about the horizon out at sea that beckons me to go there and see for myself, what lies beyond it." He said as Logan sighed before grinning.

"Give it up you guys; I guess in a way, traveling to distant lands is Volk's dream. As his best friends we should support him with his dream. But of course we'll definitely meet again, either just to hang out or at the Pokemon league finals." He said with a serious expression as he held out his fist like what Seth had done earlier. "That's already a given. You didn't even need to say it." Volker replied as he brought his fist up to meet his. The group lingered there for a bit more before resuming their walk.

* * *

"But it's not gonna be the same without you, man." Logan said from where he was ahead of the group. "Yeah, but just because I won't be joining you in your journey through Johto doesn't mean that I won't be joining up with you guys in another region." Volker answered as the others grinned at his words. "I guess that's true. But you better keep it touch with us, especially Van, because she'll probably go crazy on us if you don't give her a call every once in a while." He said with as sly grin on his face.

The next thing Volk knew, Van was running after Logan screaming bloody murder while Bailey was laughing her heart out in the background. "What happened just now?" He asked as he watched Van begin to strangle Logan who was quickly turning blue. But Seth merely put a hand on his shoulder before answering him. "Volk, you'll understand when you're older." He said as both males watched as Bailey tried to calm Van down enough for her to let go of the other male.

* * *

Once Volker arrived home, he found a feast waiting for him and not just that, he also saw his mom was home. "Mom, you're back!" He exclaimed as she gave him a kind smile, but it seemed that something was a bit off. "Yeah, I got a few days off before the next contest… Volker can you and I have a talk after dinner?" She asked and Volker got a weird feeling in his gut, but he tried not to let it show. "Sure, but why not now?" He asked, but she only gave him a small peck on his forehead before heading back to the kitchen.

Dinner had been a quiet affair; while the siblings were usually more open to having conversations when their mom was home, it seemed that her presence had the opposite effect today. Violetta finished dinner first and had quickly went up to her room. He finished soon after and went to take a bath like his mom suggested while she took care of the dishes. He then returned in ten minutes tops only to find his mom no longer in the kitchen and after looking for her, found her on their front porch.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as he sat down next to her. "Just looking at the stars. In the last cities I've been to, I haven't been able to see them at all. But I get a perfect view of them from here." She answered. "It's one of the perks of living in a quaint little town." He said and she just nodded. Then there was a comfortable silence between them that neither wanted to break. "You know, you're father loved the view here." She said so suddenly and softly that he almost missed it.

But when the words registered in his mind, he scowled. "Volk, don't be like that." His mother told him softly as Volker started to get up. "Don't be like what, mom? The old man left us, his family and never came back. There's nothing more to say." He said as Marina bit her bottom lip. "What if I told you that I wanted to talk to you about your father?" She asked as Volker frowned. "Like I said, there's nothing to sa-" He started, but was cut off by his mother.

"No, I'm not talking about Jimmy, I mean your real father." She said as Volker's blood froze at the words. "What?" He asked so softly that his mom had to strain her ears to ear. It was a far cry from the volume of his voice when he had said his previous statements, but Marina could hear the hurt in his tone, crystal clear. "I-I don't, but I'm your son... Or am I not?" Volker started to babble and this time it was Marina who stood up and gave her son a tight hug. "Of course you are Volk; you're my son in every sense of the word. But the truth is you're real father isn't Jimmy."

"Then who?" He asked confusion, hurt and betrayal in his tone as he allowed his mom to hug him. Marina sighed when she heard that question before answering him. "He had been my boyfriend before Jimmy, but then he left to go to another region. We didn't break up, but, well the distance and the lack of contact had been hard for me, and Jimmy suddenly appeared and he was also my ex- and-" She begun to say in a flurry of words . "Mom, calm down. No need to rush." He told her as he begun to feel his mom shake.

"Mom?!" He called as he brought his own arms around his mother, his tone betraying how worried he was. "I'm fine. It's just the ending of this story isn't one I'm proud of. I ended up cheating on your father with Jimmy." She said and she could feel Volker tensing up at her words. "Ah." Was the only thing he said, but there was no accusation in his tone, just acceptance and resignation. "It was a horrible thing I did to him, but he still forgave me afterwards and we buried the hatchet, but more than that, he…"

"He what mom?" He asked as Marina slowly let go of him. "I actually only found out that you were his after I got married, but when I told him about you, he was very happy." She answered as Volker raised an eyebrow. "Happy about what? Having a bastard son with a married woman?" He asked as Marina gave him a look. "Watch your language young man. But no, what he was happy about was having a son." She answered as a shocked look appeared on the young man's face.

But on the inside, he felt a strange and unfamiliar warmth that just suddenly appeared when his mind processed the second statement. Not that he was particularly happy with finding out that he was a bastard, but the words that at least someone was glad that he had been born did make him slightly happy. "But why are you telling me about him now?" He asked as Marina once again sat down on the porch. "We had a talk, your father and I and we decided to tell you the truth of your birth when you begin your journey."

"That's already in a week's time. But I can't believe it's been thirteen years already since you've came into my life, Volk. It was just like yesterday that you wanted Wani-Wani to give you piggyback rides and now, you'll be going off to another region for your journey." She said which made Volker flush slightly in embarrassment. "Did you know Volk, your first name was actually picked out by your real dad?" She said as Volker's eyes widened.

"Really? I always thought it was you who choose it." He said as Marina shook her head. "Nope, it was your dad who thought of it. While I was still looking for baby names, he suggested it. He said that if he were to ever have a son, he'd name him that. At the time, I didn't know you were his, but I loved the name so I decided that if my child was a boy, I would give him the name 'Volker'." She answered before adding. "But I didn't expect you to accept the news so easily, Volk."

He laughed at that. "I may look like I'm calm on the outside, but its pandemonium on the inside." He said as he tapped his temple with his finger. "But I guess I am being pretty calm about all this, but maybe I'm just weird like that. I personally don't think that it matters if I'm your child with your ex-boyfriend who you cheated on because no matter what I'm still your son, Viola is still my little sister, and Grandma Meg and Grandma Elinor will always be my grandmas." He said as tears welled up in Marina's eyes.

"Just hearing you say that makes me think that I did something right with how I raised you." She said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Mom, don't say that. You did a great job with raising me and Viola." He said before adding. "But just who exactly is my real dad then? Is he someone I know?" He asked and Marina sighed. "I'm sorry Volk, but I can't tell you that, at least not now. But when the time is right, you'll find out."

* * *

Ring, Ring, Ring the phone went before its owner picked it up on the fifth ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey it's me."

"Oh Marina, it's you. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong everything's fine here. I'm actually calling you from New Bark town. I just finished telling Volker the truth."

"…"

"Hello, are you still there?"

"Yeah, I am. Sorry. I was just surprised with what you said. So how he'd take it?"

"Pretty well actually, all things considered."

"Oh? Now that's a pleasant surprise. So did he ask for my identity?"

"Of course he did."

"What did you say to him then?"

"I told him that I couldn't tell him yet, but that he'd find out when the time was right."

"So how did he react to that?"

"For a second, I thought he would try to pry. But he just nodded his head and went in the house."

"Oh? Was it because he was just not that curious about me or was it something else?"

"If I know my son, and I do, I think that to him you're one mystery in his life that's been watching over him from somewhere. So yes, you've definitely got his curiosity piqued."

"Then why do you think he dropped the subject like that?"

"Maybe he's just more mature than we thought. I told you that he gets into fights in school occasionally, but he did have to take care of his younger sister mostly by himself, you know."

"I do know that. You often tell me about that. So you're thinking he was just mature enough to accept that as an answer and would just wait patiently to find out who I am?"

"Well, it could also be that you're a mystery he wants to solve by himself. I have told you how the boy likes a good mystery."

"Hahaha… That sounds more like him. Hey, Marina?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"It's nothing, I was just wondering how long it would take for the two of us to meet in person."

"That's a good question. Wanna make a bet on it Ash?"

* * *

Thank you for Reading.

Please Review. As usual, no flames please!

A/N: I do not hate Jimmy/Marina, but I needed someone who could have a pair that wasn't Ash, and who wasn't one of his friends.

The pairings for this fic will mostly be OC/OC, but there will be multiple pairings and Ash/Harem, kinda? ^_^"

But as for the members of the harem(?) They will all be people whom Ash didn't travel with. You'll just find out who they are in the succeeding chapters. :)

Of course, his friends were also paired to other people! :D


	2. Chapter 2

Finding Roots Making Ties

Summary: Volker is a teen with more angst than most, Reina wants to go out on an adventure, and Alex just wants to know who he is. Three kids from different families, with completely different lives. But a chance encounter brings them together, and it turns out that they share a common trait. They all have a connection to one Ash Ketchum. Warnings: Future fic, slight adult themes & language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

* * *

Chapter 2

In a garden in Celadon city, two females wearing traditional Kimonos sat seiza style on a red cloth as the elder of the two seemed to be mixing something in the bowl. Once the woman seemed to be satisfied with the frothiness of the beverage, she slowly pushed the bowl to her companion who accepted it. The teen then turned the bowl around before gracefully bringing the bowl to her lips and drinking the green beverage. She had only set the bowl down once she had drunk all of its contents.

"How is the tea?" The elder woman asked. "It was lovely." Her companion answered before giving her a small formal bow. "Thank you for the tea." The older woman nodded as a small smile went to her lips. "Now that the formal tea ceremony is over, what did you want to ask me Reina?" She asked as the other girl went back to her previous sitting posture before answering. "I was wondering if you'll let me accompany Rika to Fuchsia city."

She said as the elder woman arched a delicate eyebrow. "Fuchia city? Why would your cousin want to go there?" She asked. "That is the location of the next contest, mother. Rika has been asking if she could go there to watch it live." The woman seemed to go deep in thought as she said that. "That's true, ever since she first saw the contest live at Celadon, she hasn't been as content with watching from the television screen. If you're willing to accompany her, Reina, then I'll allow both of you to go to Fuchsia."

The girl's eyes seem to light up at that. "Thank you very much, mother." She said as her mother gave her a small smile back. "Oh I almost forgot! But if it isn't too much trouble Reina, would you mind delivering something for me?" A medley of curiosity and surprise flickered through the teen's eyes before she answered. "I don't mind, but to whom will I be delivering it to?" She asked as her mother chuckled behind her Kimono sleeve. "It's to Janine. I just finished making her a special poison scented perfume."

* * *

"Lookie! Lookie Reina! We're leaving Celadon!" A little girl cried as she pointed to the quickly changing scenery in the window. "Yes, we are Rika. But you should sit down properly and put your seat belt on, or you might fall from your seat." She chided gently as the child changed her sitting arrangement, so she was no longer kneeling on her chair, before strapping on the seat belt. "I can't wait to get to Fuchsia and watch the contest. The Pokemon are always so pwetty and sparkly." She said as her cousin just nodded.

"They are, aren't they? But that's what contests are all about; it's to make your Pokemon shine brighter than the others." She explained as the child seemed to mull over her words. "Is that what auntie Erika also does in her gym?" The child asked as the older girl merely shook her head. "What mother does is a bit different from a contest battle." She says as the girl tilts her head to the side in confusion. "Why is it different, Reina?" She asked.

"Contest battles are for coordinators who aim to make their Pokemon stand out. While Gym battles are to measure the strength of both Pokemon and trainer." She answered as the girl seemed to think the words over. "I don't really get it. But one day that's what you're going to do too, right Reina? I heard grandma say that when she was chatting with her friends." She said as the older girl nodded. "That's right, just like how mother took over the gym after grandma retired, I'll take over Celadon's gym after her."

"Hmmm." The child hummed before returning to look outside the window when suddenly something caught her eye. "Hey Reina, who are those people?" She asked as the other girl turned to see what the little girl was pointing at. "Oh. They're Pokemon Trainers, Rika." She answered, but it seemed that the girl wasn't satisfied with that answer yet. "Why aren't they on the bus like us?" She asked and Reina merely patted her head before answering in a wistful tone, which the child didn't notice. "Because they're on their journey."

* * *

Reina was like any other Pokemon trainer in the world, she wanted to go out and have her own adventure. She's always dreamed of going to foreign lands and meeting new kinds of Pokemon and people. But unlike any other trainer, she didn't go on a journey when she was ten and probably wouldn't get the chance to. You see, she was the daughter of a gym leader. Reina was the daughter of Celadon city's gym leader, Erika, to be more exact.

While being a gym leader's child wouldn't automatically constitute to not being able to go on her own journey, it did make part of the reason why she couldn't. Ever since she had gotten her first Pokemon, her mother started on her training for the day that she inherits the gym from her. Add that to the lessons in etiquette and traditional arts and dances she's had since she was just a child, and presto, out comes a solid reason as to why she can't leave Celadon.

While it was true that she did finish studying all the strict disciplines that her family followed, ever since last year, it didn't mean that she didn't need to practice. Rather, it was the opposite. Even after you learn everything your teachers have to offer, there must be continuous practice, otherwise she would never improve and even worse, her skills might get rusty from disuse. But while it was possible for her to still practice even when she's out of her journey, she's sure her mother expects her to follow tradition.

In their family, they had a tradition of the gym leader's heir being mentored by their predecessor and as soon as the training is over, the predecessor will retire and the heir will run the gym from then on. That was how the succession in Celadon gym went. Reina's mother, grandmother, great grandmother and all the predecessors before her all went through the same rite of passage, which would have been fine with Reina. But none of them had ever gone on a Pokemon journey, like she wanted to.

It was understandable that with their new duties and responsibilities as a gym leader, none of them would have the time to go on a journey. So, all of her predecessors had spent most of their lives in Celadon, only occasionally going out on some business. But it was a far cry from being the same as a Pokemon journey. This meant that her only chance to go on a journey is if she goes on one before she finishes her training as the next gym leader of Celadon.

But she couldn't imagine her mother actually letting her stop with her training half way to let her travel for a year, or two, or three. That wasn't how things were done it their family. Not just that, she also knew that the only thing that gets to her mother as much as asking if she could leave Celadon for an extended period of time for any reason less than life and death, was when she asked questions about her father. Now, her father was another point of interest in her life, as she has never met him and has absolutely no idea who he is.

All she knew about him was that before she had even been born, her mother threw him out of the house and then proceeded to file for a divorce. Her mother had been awarded with sole custody for her unborn child and her father just left Celadon city entirely. The only other things she knew about him, she heard from her mother, which weren't anywhere close to anything positive. So far, the only things she got from her mother were that her father had been a philanderer, gambler and all in all, a worthless man.

Her house, could be described as a house full of women. The people who lived in their rather large traditional styled house were her grandmother, grandaunts, mother, aunts, Rika and herself. Not only that, but any household helpers they had were all women as well. There wasn't even one man who lived under the same roof as them. Her grandfather had a falling out with his grandmother and left, her other grandaunts and aunts were unmarried, while Rika's father had died in an accident when she was a baby.

* * *

As soon as the doors opened, Reina let out a small sigh of relief. While she did think of Fuchsia city's gym leader as a friend, the older female was too much to handle at times. Beside her, Rika was beaming as she had gotten to play with Janine's Ariados. But as they begun their walk back to the Pokemon center, the younger girl suddenly demanded a race before sprinting ahead of her cousin. Unfortunately, the girl didn't look where she was going and literally ran into someone.

The girl fell back on her butt and Reina immediately ran over to her fallen cousin. "Sorry! I wasn't looking." The other person said as Reina helped the child up. "No, it's ok. We're half responsible for the collision that took place." She said as she looked up to see the person, Rika had bumped into. Her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the person in front of her. "Reina?!" The other man squawked as he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Rob, it is you! It's been a while." Reina greeted as the man now known as Rob nodded. "Yeah, it's been a couple of years." He said as his companion stared at the two of them interact before clearing his throat. "Oh sorry about that, Reina and Rika meet my old friend from Unova, Eric." He said before continuing. "Eric, this is Reina and her cousin Rika. I met them when I went to Celadon when I was on an errand for my aunts." He said and this time it was Eric's eyes that widened.

"Reina, as in that Reina, the one you keep talking abou-" He wasn't able to finish his sentence as Rob had chose to take that time to elbow his friend rather painfully. "Ow, that hurts. But if you elbowed me that hard, then she's definitely that Reina." He said before standing up straight again and going closer to both ladies. "Mademoiselle Reina, Mademoiselle Rika, it's a pleasure to meet both of you." He told them before taking Reina's hand and kissing the back of it, which prompted a glare from Rob.

Then he went down on one knee and did the same thing to Rika, who giggled in response. "Please, the pleasure is all ours." Reina answered before continuing. "So what are you two doing here in Fuchsia city?" She asked as Rob begun scratching the back of his head. "Well, we're actually on our way to Saffron city and we decided to stop over for some supplies here. How about the two of you, what are you doing in Fuchsia?" He asked.

"I'm here to chaperon Rika since she said that she wanted to go here to watch the Pokemon contest today, live." She answered before adding. "But we also just delivered something from my mother just now." She said as Rob nodded his head and Eric checked the time on his watch. "Well you have two hours before the contest starts, what do you guys want to do?" He asked as the group thought about it. But it was the youngest of the group who answered first. "Let's go to the park!"

* * *

A few minutes later and the group found themselves at the park. Rika was playing on the swing set as Rob pushed her from behind. While both Reina and Eric sat down on a park bench, that overlooked the swing set. "So you've known Rob since you were children?" Reina asked as the other teen nodded. "That's right. His parents and my parents are old friends, so the two of us are more like siblings than anything." He replied before adding. "But right now, I'm just here in Kanto for a visit."

He then leaned in to her ear, and begun to whisper almost conspiratorially. "But then he goes and drags me here while I was chilling at his house in Cerulean." Reina chuckled a little at that. "Sounds like you have it rough. But did I hear right when he said your mother is a gym leader in Unova?" She asked and he nodded in confirmation. "But then don't you have to undergo any training for the day you take over the gym?" She asked as Eric laughed. "No, no that is in my younger sister's department, not mine."

"My dream is to be a connoisseur as great and reliable as my dad. What about you, Reina?" He asked which caused Reina to look at him with a confused expression. "What about me?" She asked as Eric explained it further. "My apologies, I was being too vague. But I was asking what your dream was." He told her. "You don't have to apologize, Eric. But my dream? Well I do want to take over the gym one day…" She said, but as she said that her eyes started to gain a distant look in them.

"But do you have any other dream other than that?" He asked her as Reina seemed to want to say something, but decided against it. "Don't worry, I won't laugh. I promise. Unless its something too personal to share, then I understand if you don't want to…" He trailed of but Reina only shook her head. "No, it's not that. It's just, can you consider something a dream if you know that it will most probably never come true?" She asked and Eric seemed to be at a loss at that for a second before he spoke up again.

"Of course it is. But my dad always tells me that it's working towards your dream that will make it come true, and as long as you keep on working on it, no one can say with absolute certainty that it will never come true." He said which made Reina smile a bit. "Those are nice words, your dad sounds like a wonderful person." She said and Eric mirrored her smile. "He is, but I'm sure your dad is just as wonderful a person as mine is." He told her and was surprised when she shook her head.

"In all honesty, I don't know what kind of person he is because I've never met him." She said and Eric seemed to pale slightly. "I'm sorry; it seems I said something quite insensitive to you." He apologized, but Reina only waved him of. "It's fine, I'm actually used to it by now. Besides, it's not like you knew about it." She said before continuing. "But as for my other dream, it's nothing extravagant, I just want to travel around the world and have adventures."

"Then why don't you?" Eric asked, confusion lacing his words. "If that's what you really want, then what's stopping you?" Reina sighed at that. "It's kind of complicated, but it has something to do with my family's traditions." She answered before adding. "But it's ok. I've kind of already accepted it." He frowned at that. "Why give up on your dream, and why not just fight for it? I don't know about your family's traditions, but I don't think anyone should have to give up on their dreams."

* * *

Later on that night, Reina found herself tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep. On the bed next to her, Rika was sound asleep with a small smile of her face. The girl had immediately crashed as soon as she got to their room from all the excitement that had come from traveling to Fuchsia city, playing at the park, and watching the Pokemon contest. But it seemed that no sleep was forthcoming for the older girl. In her mind, Eric's words were ringing over and over again.

"Why give up on your dream, and why not just fight for it?" She sighed, if only it was that simple. "I don't know about your family's traditions…" But then again, why wouldn't it be that simple? "But I don't think anyone should have to give up on their dreams." Maybe she could try, what did she have to lose? As things stand, her dream was slowly slipping from her fingers. Having that final thought in mind, sleep finally stopped eluding her and brought her to the world of dreams.

* * *

"Well it was nice seeing you two again." Rob said to both Rika and Reina. "Yes, I do hope we see each other again one day." She replied before turning to Eric and extending her hand to him. "Hopefully by the next time we see each other, we'll have gotten a bit closer to the realization of our dreams." She told him as Eric gave her a contagious grin which she returned. "Yeah. Remember when there's a will there will always be a way. As long as you never give up on your dream-"

"Then no one can say with absolute certainty that it's impossible for it to be realized, right?" She finished as her eyes seemed to have a determined glint in her eyes, that wasn't there yesterday. Eric laughed at that. "Yup, you've gotten our family motto down, pat." They then said their parting words before the group had split up, with the two boys heading towards Saffron city while the two girls headed back to Celadon city.

* * *

"Mother." Reina greeted as she gave the older woman a small formal bow. "Reina, so you and Rika have returned. So where is your cousin?" She asked. "She is currently resting in her room; the travel back seems to have exhausted her." She explained, to which Erika nodded. "I see, then what of Janine?" She asked as Reina brought forward what seemed to be a letter. "She seemed very pleased when I gave it to her, and she had asked me to give you this letter."

Erica said nothing as she took the letter, before opening it and reading the contents. A small smile graced her features as she folded the letter before returning it into its envelope. "It was a thank you letter from her, and at the end of the letter, she asks me to make her a perfume using Grimer's scent." She says as Reina cracks a small smile at that. "Even after all the times I told her that it was impossible, she still insists that I try it. But perhaps I will attempt it this time." She said which surprised Reina.

"You will, mother?" She asks as Erika gives her a nod. "It is something that I have never attempted, not even once. But perhaps this will yield interesting results. As the saying goes, one never knows until she tries." She said before looking at Reina who now seemed to have a barely noticeable, nervous expression on her face. "Is there something wrong Reina? Or is there something else you want to ask me?" She asked as her daughter just gave a small nod. "Then don't hesitate to speak what is on your mind, Reina."

"I was wondering, if I could go on a Pokemon journey..." Reina started and Erika blinked. "What was that you said, Reina? I think I misheard you." She told her as her daughter repeated what she said which proved to Erika that her ears had not failed her. "But why are you suddenly bringing this up?" Reina seemed to fidget slightly from where she sat across her mother before answering. "I've always wanted to go out and to see the world, and so I implore you to postpone my training and to let me journey for some time."

Erika frowned at that. "Do you not want to become the next gym leader anymore, Reina?" But her daughter quickly shook her head at that. "No, of course not. But before taking up that role, I would like to do some traveling for a while." She answered. "If to travel somewhere is all you want, then I can arrange a vacation for you somewhere." She said, but her daughter was quick to reply. "No, that's not it! What I want is to go out and have an adventure."

"Then you can have all the adventures you want on your vacation." Her mother countered. "Like I said that isn't it!" She said, her voice sounding exasperated. "Then what exactly is it, Reina? Because I really don't understand why you suddenly want to go on a Pokemon journey. When it comes to opportunities to getting stronger, then you already have it here. So why do you suddenly want to leave, is there something lacking in Celadon city?" She asked as her eyes widened.

"This isn't about that man is it?" She asked her voice barely louder than a whisper as Reina sighed. "Mother, you should stop referring to your ex-husband; and my father as that man." She said before adding. "And no, this is not about him." An unreadable seemed to appear in Erika's eyes for a moment before it disappeared. "But if you could, would you meet with him? If for example, you found out that he was in the area while you were out on your journey, would you attempt to see him or to visit him?"

Reina seemed to be taken by surprise by the question as her next few words came out rushed. "I don't know, maybe?" She said and Erika sighed. "Then that's one more reason not to let you go. I'm sure I've already told you this, but that man is no good. Nothing good will come out from the two of you meeting." She told her as Reina stood up. "But that isn't fair! You're not letting me go just because I might accidentally see father?"

"It's not just because of that, Reina! Think about your other obligations, your lessons, your practice and most importantly, your training!" Erika told her. "I have thought of them, and I won't be abandoning them! I'll just take break from them, but I will return to them one day. As for father, even if he's only going to disappoint me I still want to see him even once in my life, because he is still my father!" She replied which made Erika sigh again.

"This is what I was afraid of; you blindly searching for that man. I had purposely made sure that you know as little about your father as possible because you will just be severely disappointed when you find out the truth about him. But it seems my plan has backfired." She said as she closed both of her eyes and after a few moments spoke again. "If I knew this was going to happen, then I would have rather you go out seeking your biological father instead."

Erika didn't need to open her eyes to know her daughter was more than a little surprised at what she said, and instead gestured back to the cushion across from her. "Reina, you should sit down. We have much to discuss." She said without opening her eyes, but judging from the sound of shuffling cloth, knew that her daughter had decided to follow her suggestion. When she finally opened her eyes, her daughter now sat across from her like a little while ago, albeit, looking much paler compared to before.

"Reina, you know this right? That you weren't exactly made in the natural way…" She trailed off as Reina nodded. "Yeah, I'm a test tube baby. You told me about it when I was ten." She said as Erika gave her a curt nod. "That's right, but what I didn't tell you is that, you and that man share no relation in blood. In the first place, it was because of him that I had to resort to using the artificial method. He couldn't have any children, so we had to resort to modern day technology just so I could have a child."

"But the one who helped me sire a child was an old friend of mine, who donated his, well you know…" She said looking uncomfortable with finishing her sentence. "Anyways, that friend of mine is your real father. So there is absolutely no reason for you to go looking for that man who I had been married to once." She summarized before standing up. "That will be all for tonight, Reina. I have already given you enough to think about for tonight." She said as she gracefully glided to the doorway. "But regarding you going on a Pokemon journey, I will not permit it!"

* * *

"She's too much like you."

"Well, hello to you too Erika. But who's too much like me?"

"Reina, who else could it be?"

"Alright, but why do you sound so upset then? Did you two get into a fight?"

"…You could say that…"

"About what?"

"About her going on a Pokemon journey."

"…What's so bad about that?"

"What's bad is that she wants to postpone her training, not to mention her skills might get unpracticed. She'll also be breaking the family tradition."

"Then let her break it."

"Excuse me?!"

"For her skills, while it might be improbable, it's not impossible that she practices while on her journey, and she might even learn a thing or two on the road that will help her improve."

"Not to mention, Erika you're way too young to need a successor. Look at Drayden, he was Gym leader for fifty years. Besides, isn't your own daughter's happiness more important than some traditions?"

"…"

"…Erika you still there?"

"I'm here; I just hate how you make me feel like a petulant child…"

"Well, someone needs to do it. But now all you need to do is tell her to stay clear of your ex-husband and you can let her go."

"That probably won't be an issue anymore."

"Oh? Why, did you tell her the kind of man he really is?"

"No, I told her about how you were her real father, Ash."

"You what?!"

"Well I didn't give away your identity. But I did tell her that she wasn't that man's child in all sense of the word."

"Ah. But I thought you weren't going to tell her until she was eighteen."

"There was no choice; she might have kept on wanting to meet him if I didn't."

"Good for you, then! Now you've finally got that out of the way. So with this, will you finally let her go on her Pokemon journey?"

"No."

"Why not, Erika? I know you're not an unreasonable person, so you must have a reason to say that."

"Because…"

"….M….Af….D"

"What was that, Erika? I didn't hear you just now."

"I said that I was afraid."

"…"

"…"

"Well, I didn't expect that."

"…"

"But what are you afraid of, that she'll get hurt? Erika, all parents feel this that way when their children are about to go on their respective Pokem-"

"That's not it. Of course as a parent, I'm also worried about that. But that's not what I'm afraid of."

"Then what are you afraid of then?"

"…"

"Erika?"

"I'm afraid that she won't come back."

"…"

"…"

"Erika, I say this with all the love in the world. You're being ridiculous."

"!?"

"There is no way that she won't come back, Celadon is her home."

"For now, but I'm afraid that once she gets a taste of freedom, when she sees what the world can offer her, Celadon won't be enough for her."

"…Even if that did come true, she'll still come back for the sole reason that you're there. You're her mother, wherever you are, that's where her home will be."

"Listen, you told me she was too much like me. While it is true that I did leave home and travel a lot, if she's even anything like me then she'll also return back home after her journey. There's a saying, isn't there? Even the mighty Pigeot will return to its nest to rest its tired wings. You have nothing to worry about."

"Was I just being silly then?"

"A bit, but that's fine. Though if I could give my humble opinion, I think you should give her more room to grow, and let her make her own choices in life. Otherwise, you'll be unintentionally clipping her wings and if she's as much like me as you say, I wouldn't be surprised if she would run away from home. "

"Please, she's not that much like you. But first thing tomorrow morning, I'll apologize to her for being so irrational, and I'll allow her to go on her Pokemon journey."

"That would probably be for the best."

* * *

Thanks for Reading!

Please Review! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Finding Roots Making Ties

Summary: Volker is a teen with more angst than most, Reina wants to go out on an adventure, and Alex just wants to know who he is. Three kids from different families, with completely different lives. But a chance encounter brings them together, and it turns out that they share a common trait. They all have a connection to one Ash Ketchum. Warnings: Future fic, slight adult themes & language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

Chapter 3

* * *

Alex grunted as he peeled himself from the wall he was leaning on before making a run for the exit and he could hear the enemy hot on his trail. When he gets back, he was going to kill Evan for this. The guy said that it was a simple retrieval mission; he hadn't said anything about this turning out to be an underground ring of Pokemon smuggling. If he had known, then he would have come more prepared for this. As it was, all he had on him was his Pokemon and a his Xtranceiver.

That was nowhere near enough to take down thirty professional hunters, and what was worse was that he was stuck in an island in the middle of nowhere. His only hope now was that the reinforcements he sent for were already on their way. He cursed as a flamethrower only missed him by a hair's breadth and tried to run even faster. Without even slowing down, he took a glance at the image on his Xtranceiver and took a sharp turn to the right when he reached an intersection.

It was only a few meters now before he reached the exit to this facility, but that was when two men suddenly blocked his path. With his pursuers, behind him there was no other way to go than forward. He then pulled out a Pokeball and enlarged it before releasing the Pokemon inside. "Mightyena, use Giga Impact!" He ordered as the Bite Pokemon begun to be engulfed in a purple glow as it charged forward, knocking down both people and Pokemon, giving his master a clear pathway.

He then returned his Pokemon before he could falter in his step as the recoil from Giga Impact kicked in and made another sharp turn to arrive at an empty corridor where he can see the exit at the end of it and made a mad dash for it. Once he passed it, he's literally out in the jungle and he wastes no time running deep into it. Mid step, he grabs another Pokeball and throws it to release another Pokemon. "Honch!" The Pokemon cries as he flies overhead his master.

"Honchcrow! Guilde me to the beach!" The Big Boss Pokemon cried out what was probably an affirmative before flying even higher and darting straight ahead. The teen tried to follow the best he could, but it wasn't easy considering the shadow balls being thrown his way and he tried to run in a zigzag to increase his chances of not getting hit. It worked for a bit, but it seemed that his luck came to an end when a huge Machoke and Hariyama suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Shit." Was all he said before deciding to make a gamble and ran head first towards the glowing fists of the two giants, but once he was close he slid down the small opening between the two giants. He then quickly got to his feet with a wince before continuing his run again. He looked up to see where Honchcrow was, but gritted his teeth when he couldn't see his Pokemon anywhere. This meant only one thing; he was completely lost in the jungle with his enemies right behind him. Just perfect.

In this type of situation, there was only one thing for him to do. He had to somehow hold out and keep running to stall for time since it didn't look like reinforcement was going to arrive anytime soon. He could only pray to Arceus that the path he was on would lead to the beach, or at least not back to the facility he had just left. As he jumped over another log he stole another glance at his Xtranceiver, just waiting for headquarters, or back up to contact him, but so far nothing, he got absolutely nothing.

It seemed that his luck, that had managed to keep him alive thus far, had finally run out when he finally broke through the thicket and arrived at a cliff, of all things. "You have got to be kidding me." He said as he backed up when the hunters began to close in on him. One look down showed him a long drop with very sharp looking rocks waiting at the very bottom. So with that, jumping down was no longer such an attractive sounding option to him. As things were there were two choices for him.

The first was that he could jump down with a twenty percent chance, at best to land safely in the water. The other eighty percent was that he'd hit the rocks and crack his head open. The other option was to stay on the cliff with the hunters and somehow distract them long enough for back up to get to him. Of course this came with the risk of multiple Pokemon attacks being hurled his way, which would mean that he'd most probably have a long and painful death…

As he took another look at the snarling Pokemon in front of him and the jagged rocks that promised instantaneous death, he started to see the appeal of a quick and painless death. But that was only if worse comes to worse, because he wasn't going to give up on living just yet. "You better give it up hunters, it's all over. As we speak my, comrades are about to arrive in this island. " He bluffed, with a face that betrayed absolutely no emotion.

"That's just what you think, boy! As soon as we get rid of you, we'll be long gone before your comrades even take a step on this island's shores." The lead hunter of the pack, Ryder, retorted with a triumphant grin on his face as he started to pull something from his jacket. Alex inwardly cursed before racking his brain for anything that could save his life. "Even if you guys plan on leaving, it doesn't matter. You'll be caught in a matter of days." He said as Ryder's hand stopped mid-pull as the man frowned.

"Oh, and what makes you think that?" He asked as Alex gave the best smirk he could muster. "Just think about it, how did I end up finding out about all this? It all started when one of your hunters got sloppy on a job and left a trail for me to follow." He said as the look on Ryder's face looked far from amused. "What are you getting at, boy?" He bit out rather impatiently. "Hunters usually work alone; it's rare that they ever work in group, and even rarer still that they work in a group as big as yours."

"But hunters aren't perfect, and sometimes they'll leave a trail. What I'm getting at is that with the number of hunters you have in your organization, or whatever you call your bunch, eventually another one will leave a trail that will ultimately lead back to your headquarters." He said and it seemed that all hunters on the cliff seemed to ponder his words for a moment before they began to murmuring things to each other looking far from pleased.

If there was something he knew about hunters, it was that a lot of them were careful and cautious by nature, but even more of them were paranoid, by playing into their fear of getting caught the teen managed to get himself some time. But it ended when Ryder suddenly barked out at the other hunters. "Enough!" At that one word, the other hunters silenced themselves as Alex inwardly grimaced. It seemed that their fear for the man won over their natural sense of paranoia, and he immediately looked down at his extranceiver for the nth time that day, but still nothing.

"That was an interesting point you put out, boy." He said as he once again put his hand in his jacket and pulled out a gun. "I'll have to remember that when I'm on my airship." He told him as he pointed the gun at the teen. "But it's the end of the line for you, boy." He had said, but Alex didn't hear his last statement because he was too preoccupied with the navy blue, almost black figure that stood out from the deep blue of the sea and the blueish gray from the rocks.

With just that, his mind was made up. As he heard the safety being turned off he instantly turned and headed for the edge of the cliff, jumping at the exact same time the trigger was pulled. The bullet had grazed his arm, but he didn't put any mind to it. Instead his eyes were on his buzzing Xtranceiver which showed a blurry image of a boy his age with brown hair and blue eyes. The Xtranceiver call was choppy and the image kept turning to static every other second. "Alex… Back…U… Ha… Ar…Ve…"

But for the life of him, the only thing that went through his mind as he fell was, "Now, you guys arrive." He thought rather annoyed at his comrade's timing before looking at the rapidly nearing sea. It seemed that with angle of his fall, he would end up hitting the rocks. But Alex was perfectly calm, not because he was resigning himself to death, but because he knew that things would turn out just fine. There was a flash of white in the water before the rocks that he was supposed to be landing on was pulverized instantly, giving way to the clear blue waters.

He made contact with the water, which resulted in a great splash and it took a few seconds before his head went back up. But it seemed that he wasn't alone as a large Pokemon that resembled a shark suddenly swam next to him. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes, Sharpedo." He said as he gave his Pokemon a small pat on the head. "Shar." The Pokemon replied as Alex put an arm around him so that he didn't need to use so much energy just to stay afloat.

But that was when several helicopters suddenly appeared before flying directly above the cliff. From the waters, Alex could make out the words, "Hunters, you're all under arrest for Pokemon smuggling! Return your Pokemon and drop all your Pokeballs." It was said by a voice that was amplified by a microphone, and the teen couldn't help but sigh before letting go of Sharpedo to lean on the Brutal Pokemon instead.

Alex closed his eyes. That had been a close one, thank Arceus he taught his Sharpedo the move Skull Bash, otherwise he'd just be a corpse in the water by the time his comrades got to him. "Alex, Alex are you there bro?" A voice asked as he opened one eye to look at his Xtranceiver that was floating in the water next to him, it must have come off when he fell into the sea. He reached out and grabbed it before bringing it up to his face. "Alex speaking here, what can I do for you?"

The other teen on the other end of the line let out a sigh of relief. "Alex! Bro, you had me worried. I thought that the hunters had already gotten to you before we could." He said as Alex gave him a bland look. "That's what I thought would happen to me too until two minutes ago, Evan." He replied as the other teen laughed sheepishly. "It's a good thing you released Sharpedo in the sea when you first got to the island then. Hey, don't look at me like that! In my defense, there's terrible signal in that island!"

Alex chuckled dryly at that. "Yea, I could just see it now, "agent dies because of bad signal" That would make a pretty good title for the report." But Evan just put his hands up in a placating manner. "I get it, bro. The new Xtranceiver still needs a few problems, I'll tell that to Professor Parker later. But speaking of problems, what was up with all the static with my previous call a little while ago?" He asked as Alex just shrugged.

"You called me while I was freefalling from a cliff. I guess the professor needs to work on that too." He answered evenly before adding. "Oh, and Evan I'm putting an official request for a pick up." He said as the other teen nodded. "No problem bro, just tell me exactly where you're at." He told him as the other teen looked at his surroundings. "Well, right now I'm in the sea, surrounded by sharp rocks and like I said, I fell from a cliff." He said simply as the other teen sighed.

"You need to be a bit more specific than that bro, how many cliffs do you think there are on that Island?" He asked. "There really isn't anything around that I can use as a landmark. But just look for an agent leaning on a Sharpedo in the water, and you won't miss me." Was the only thing he said before ending the call. "Well Sharpedo, looks like it's just going to be you and me for a while." He said and the Pokemon gave him an affectionate growl.

"Shar! Shar, Sharpedo!" He cried out as he seemed to be looking at something in the sky. Alex looked up to see a dark spot in the sun. But when he squinted, he saw that the dark spot was some kind of Pokemon with dark blue feathers with a red underside and grinned. "Honchkrow, over here!" He shouted as the bird Pokemon made a sharp descend down before alighting on his head. "Correction Sharpedo. Now, it's just you, me and Honchkrow."

* * *

Hours later, and Alex finds himself back in headquarters with his injuries already treated, wearing a new set of clothes. He was just finishing up his report when Evan walked into the room with three Pokeballs in his hand. "Here, Nurse Joy's done treating your Pokemon." He said as he handed the Pokeballs back to his friend, who took them before putting them back in his black jacket. "Thanks, Evan." He told him before going back on his report.

"But man, outside everyone's talking about what you did today." He started as Alex paused his typing to look at his friend. "They talked about how I was stranded on an island and almost died several times?" He asked and Evan gave him a dry look. "Very funny, wise guy. No, that wasn't what they were talking about. They were talking about how you uncovered the underground ring, bro." He said as his face turned thoughtful. "What's this, your fifth crack down?"

"Sixth." Was the simple answer he gave as Evan grinned in triumph. "See? For someone who's only joined up three years ago, six crack downs on large syndicates is an unbelievable feat." He said before continuing. "Shame that you're no longer eligible to win the Rookie of the Year award anymore." Alex sighed at that. "That doesn't really matter to me; I'm just doing my job like anyone else in this organization. Besides I was just lucky this time around, nothing more than that."

"You can be too serious when it comes to work, you know that?" He asked as Alex finished up his report before handing it to his friend, who took it. "Yeah, you say that to me almost on a weekly basis." He answered as he stood up and grabbed his pack. "Hey, where are you going?" Evan asked as he watched his friend head out to the door. "I'm going to go grab the last flight back to Goldenrod city." He replied evenly as his friend took a look at the time on his watch.

"By the time you get back, it'll be night. You sure you don't want to spend the night at headquarters and go home tomorrow morning instead?" He asked as Alex merely pointed at something in his Xtranceiver. Evan looked down at his own device and frowned, he didn't see anything out of place when a couple of numbers caught his eyes and his eyes widened in horror. He gulped before looking up to meet his friend's eyes again. "Today is that day?" He asked, fear lacing his every word.

"That's right, so it's a must that I return back home tonight, otherwise we'll get a repeat of what happened two years ago." He replied as evenly as he could, but as soon as the words left his lips both boys shuddered at the memory. "Bro; you don't need to say anything else. I perfectly understand your circumstances. Heck, I'm sure anyone in this organization will understand. I'll submit your report for you and take of the other stuff, but for the love of Arceus, hurry or you might miss your flight!"

* * *

His name was Alexandre, or just Alex, in short. He was a Pokemon trainer/agent working for an organization called the G-men. He began training when he was just eight after receiving direct recommendations, and became a full-fledged agent at the age of ten. It was a feat that had been unheard of before him, as most trainees became full fledged agents at the age of twelve or thirteen. While many had their doubts or their reservations on him joining at a young age, there was no choice.

He had managed to finish the training curriculum that was supposed to last for four to five years, in just two and it would have been a waste if he was just kept on standby, not doing anything while he waited for his twelfth birthday. So they let him go on missions, provided that for the first two years he only worked on cases that took place locally, or in other words, his homeland of Johto. Despite his young age, he was already able to accomplish a lot and helped out a lot of Pokemon.

In his first year he took down the notorious Hunter Aiden and his men, which got him the Rookie of the year award. But enough about that, the truth about the teen was that despite seeming to have a perfect life, he had one problem. He had no idea who his dad was. While this probably shouldn't have bothered him as much as it did since he did have his mom and it wasn't like he really missed out on anything in his childhood because his dad wasn't there. He couldn't let it go.

Now, don't get him wrong. It wasn't that he was starved or desperate for a father figure in his life. No, he had enough uncles for those, thank you very much. What made him hang on was the fact that his mom would never tell him who his father was, and because of that there seemed to be a big blank in his life. It was a blank that made him uncomfortable, because it was like there was a part of himself that was shrouded in complete mystery and would continue to stay that way until he found out the identity of his dad.

It brought a disconcerting feeling to him every time he thought about it. His dad had never been in the picture, but when his mom got into the mood to do some storytelling, she would always tell him how great a man he was. When he was just a kid, this was probably what spurred his interest in the man. But as he grew up, these feelings gave way to confusion and uncertainty for him until it reached the point that he began to question his own identity.

* * *

At exactly six thirty pm, he arrived at the rather large flat he shared with his mom and landed on the teal couch with a thud. The whole house was dark and quiet, which meant that his mom was probably still at work. He inhaled deeply as he shifted to get in a more comfortable position before falling asleep in short order. It was later that he awoke to a much illuminated living room courtesy of the lights being turned on as he slowly got up from his lying position on the couch.

One glance at the adjoining kitchen showed his mother cooking something over the stove and while he was comfortable where he was at, his stomach chose that particular moment to start growling, and that decided his next course of action. He stood up before padding over to the kitchen, and while his mother didn't turn back, she seemed to have known that he was already up and was headed towards her, if her addressing him was any indication.

"Had a nice nap, Kiddo?" She asked without turning around. "I was able to catch up on some sleep, yes." He answered as he stopped when he was right beside her. His mother hummed before taking a glance at him and frowning. "Are you getting enough to eat? Your face looks even skinnier than the last time I saw you." She commented. "Don't worry mom, I'm eating enough." He answered as she shook her head. "Eating calorie mate and energy bars hardly counts as eating enough."

"Maybe, but it's much better than the food at headquarters." He replied as he got the plates and utensils that were on the counter before heading towards the table to set them there. "Honestly, it's an interregional organization, but the food they serve at their cafeteria loses to calorie mate and energy bars. I should really go talk to Lance about that. I can't have you dying on me from malnutrition, of all things, because you don't eat the food there." She said as she served up the food that was in the pot.

"I won't die from malnutrition, mom. I do eat the food there; I'm just usually on the road so I have no time for regular meals. But if worse comes to worst, I'll take supplement tablets." His mother scoffed at that. "The G-Men are willing to save the Pokemon, but they're not willing to make sure that their agents get to eat properly?" She said as she set down the plate on the table. "I miss the times when you were younger, and would go with me to the league; at least you liked the food there."

"Which reminds me, Lorelei and the others have been asking about how you were doing lately. It's been a long time since they've seen you in person." She said as Alex flinched. "You should really visit them soon." She said as she sat down opposite to her son. "Yeah, I will." He replied as he picked up a utensil and begun to dug in to the food with gusto. "Good to see that you still enjoy my cooking." She said as she picked up her own fork and took a bite of the Vongola pasta she made.

"There has never been a time that I didn't enjoy your cooking, and there most probably never will." He answered truthfully before taking a sip of tomato soup, which made his mom smile. "So I heard that just hours before, you had a big mission." She said conversationally and Alex stilled his hand before looking up from his plate that was full of different foods. "I guess." He answered nonchalantly before resuming his eating. But his mom only gave him a small sly smile before speaking again.

"I bet you're glad your Carvahna evolved into Sharpedo, otherwise you would have been in hot water." She said as she regarded her son. "I was already in hot water before that, so it's more accurate to say that I would have been out of the frying pan and into the fire." He told her honestly before adding. "But one thing I am glad about is that I had been wearing the special suit at the time, because otherwise I would have gotten hurt because of Sharpedo's rough skin." He said conversationally and she laughed. "That's true."

"How about you, mom? Any challengers or at least potential challengers show up today?" He asked as his mother sighed. "Unfortunately, no. It was just another one of those days that I had to do paperwork to pass the time." She answered before adding. "Well, even if there was I'd still have to wait a long time before anyone could challenge me." She said and Alex gave her a comforting smile. "Don't be down mom, that's just because no one's foolish enough to fight Karen from Johto's Elite four without proper preparations."

* * *

In half an hour's time, the table had been cleared of the dishes that had been occupying it before and all that was left was two small plates, two dessert forks, two glasses and a bottle of Apple Cider. The woman, now identified as Karen came back from the Kitchen holding a box in her hands before she set it down on the dining table. She then opened it to reveal the cake that was inside. "So I get black forest this year?" He asked as he watched his mom light the fourteen candles on the cake.

"That's right. You've had a long day today Kiddo, but happy birthday Alex." She said as the teen blew out the candles. Not long after that, the cake was cut and a piece went to each plate on the table. "But it was a good thing that you managed to come back home in time this year, if you hadn't, I would have went to the G-Men headquarters again." Karen mused and Alex winced. "I'd rather not repeat what happened two years ago, mom. The other agents actually call it the Vileplum incident now."

Karen laughed at that. "Do they now? But enough about that, it's time for CaF." She said as Alex sighed before setting down his fork. So they were going to do this again, like every other birthday. CaF, stood for 'Clues about Father' and it was a game they started to play since he was four. The game was simple; his mom would literally give him one clue about his dad, hence its name. He probably would have been more enthusiastic about this game, if it wasn't for the clues being too vague.

"So far what I have I told you?" She asked as the teen listed down her previous clues. "He loves Pokemon, tall, came from another region, you met in Johto and you were on good terms with each other." Karen nodded her head before resting them on her propped up arms. "As for this year's clue, it's going to be a bit different compared to the other years." She said as she seemed to regard him for a moment. "Oh? How so?" He asked as his mom straightened in her seat.

"For this year's clue, I'll admit to you that I've kept in touch with your father over the years." She said and the effect was instantaneous. Alex stood up so quickly that his chair had been knocked over. "What?!" The words came out sounding strangled and Karen also rose from her seat. "That's right and for an extra special service, I'll tell you this. Your father wants to meet you." She said before leaving the stunned teen and going over to her room, returning moments later with a medium to large gift wrapped box.

Alex could only stare as his mother gave him the box and when he remained unmoving, put the box in his hands. "Aren't you going to open your gift, kiddo? If you do, you might find a nice surprise in there." She said and once the words registered in his mind Alex looked down at the box wrapped in silver wrapper with an ivory colored ribbon before he slowly unwrapped and opened it. A look of confusion appeared on his face as he saw the contents of the box.

"A backpack and running shoes?" Karen nodded her head before pulling out a letter and a shrunken Pokeball from her coat. "Those are from me, you'll need them when you're on your journey." She said as Alex got even more confused. She then held out both Pokeball and letter to him. "These, are from your father." She said as she watched as her son looked like someone had put a bullet in between his eyes before he reached out for the items.

Once they were in his hands, he first opened the letter to see what sort of message was inside. Karen got a bit worried when her son just seemed to stare at the small piece of paper in his hands, but she was more than a little surprised when he suddenly started laughing. "Alex?" She called out, but he just held his hands up. "I'm fine, but I never expected my dad to be such an interesting guy. But whatever, I'll take him on his challenge!"

* * *

It was a bit after midnight, but Karen was still up. She sat down on a stool by the kitchen island as she nursed her drink. She sighed before pulling out her phone and dialing a familiar number which the other person picked up on the second ring.

"Karen? Why on earth are you calling at twelve twenty five?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Something wrong?"

"Nope, but just the prospect of you and Alexandre meeting keeps me from sleeping."

"I'm guessing you've given him my gifts already. So, what happened?"

"He took your letter as a challenge issued to him. Even I couldn't see it as anything but a challenge, when I got to read the letter. You sure it's a good idea to provoke him like this?"

"It's the best way to get him on a journey."

"You really think that a journey is the best option."

"Well, like you've said. He's a bit lost right now, and he's at the stage that he's wondering who he is. I also went through that stage, but I was cured by going out on a journey. It was on my journey that I learned a lot about myself that I never knew, and was able to find out and get comfortable with who 'I' was."

"And that's exactly what that child needs right now. Hopefully it will be able to do the trick for Alex too, because right now you're already using yourself as bait. If this doesn't work, then I'll be counting on you to give him some fatherly guidance."

"Don't worry; I'll do my best to help him out. Though I got to say, this whole conversation is giving me a sense of Déjà Vu."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"Got another call earlier this evening about another one of my kids."

"Which one? You have to be a bit more specific since you have a lot."

"My daughter in Kanto."

"Ah, Erika's, then?"

"That's right."

"Did something bad happen?"

"Oh no, they just got into an argument. But Erika's going to mend things up between them first thing tomorrow."

"Well that's good…"

"Karen? You okay, what's with that long sigh?"

"I was just thinking about my Alexandre, I just don't get is why this became such an issue, him finding out who you are, I mean. It's not like I haven't told him how we just had a one night fling that resulted in me getting pregnant with him."

"Well, it's something I can kind of relate to since I also grew up without a dad. But the difference between us is that I knew who and what happened to my dad. For kids like Alex who don't really know anything about their parent, or in some cases, parents, they don't get to have the same closure I got."

"So if it's just that, then I should have just told him today about who you are. You did say that it was about time for you two to meet, anyways."

"No, this and that are two different things."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Finding out who his father is will give him a sense of closure and it will tell him that he has roots from his other side, but that's still different from him being lost with who he is. That had stemmed from his own uncertainty, and it can only be cured with both understanding and acceptance of himself."

"Both of which you expect he'll get at the end of the journey."

"It's worth a shot. He's part of the G-Men, which means he's never went on a proper journey before, so you never know. By the way, did he like my other gift?"

"Liked it, he loved it. But then again, even I have to admit that you've sent quite the adorable gift. Almost makes me jealous."

"Hahahah… Well good to know that he liked it, but it's as blatant a clue as it is adorable. Which reminds me, I was planning on giving you its brother as a gift for your birthday... But I guess that I wouldn't mind giving him to you a bit early."

"…"

"…Karen? Something I said?"

"(Squeal) Really? I'd love to have him. When can you send him to me?"

"I can do it as early as tomorrow morning, but you should have given me a warning. My eardrums almost burst."

"Well I can't help it! It's not every day that I get an adorable Pokemon from Unova's champion himself."

"Honestly, if your fans saw their cool idol acting this way…"

"Well, they didn't and they won't. This side of me just comes out when I'm with people I'm close to."

"I guess I should be honored then."

"You should."

"But anyways has the boy made any plans yet for his journey?"

"Oh, he's already sent a letter to the G-Men about him taking a break and he'll be heading out to visit his aunts and uncles at the Pokemon league first thing tomorrow morning, and will at least be staying there for a couple of days. Then he'll come back here before going off on his journey, proper."

"Sounds like he's had it all planned out."

"What would you expect from our son?"

"Nothing less, Karen. Nothing less."

* * *

Thanks for Reading.

Please Review! ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

Finding Roots Making Ties

Volker is a teen with more angst than most, Reina wants to go out on an adventure, and Alex just wants to know who he is. Three kids from different families, with completely different lives. But a chance encounter brings them together, and it turns out that they share a common connection. All three of them are the children of Unova's champion, Ash Ketchum. Warnings: Future fic, slight adult themes & language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

* * *

Chapter 4

"Hello?"

"Ash?!"

"Erika, what's up? Don't tell me you guys ended up fighting again."

"It's not that Ash, she's gone!"

"Hold on a sec, who's gone?"

"Reina!"

"What did you just say?!"

* * *

"You look really weird in that." A girl commented as the teen in front of her scowled. "There's really not much choice in the matter of me wearing it, Viola." Volker retorted as he tried to fix the black toga that he currently donned. "But seriously, just because we're graduating from Poke Grad School, doesn't mean that the school needs to give us one last torture." He groaned as the girl went closer and examined the material of her brother's robes.

As she did that, Volker couldn't help but notice how things between them were so normal, even after he found out that they had different fathers and all. But he guesses, that he couldn't really expect anything else. Especially since she had already found out about it years ago when she overheard their mom and their grandma talking about his and her father.

"It's really a thick type of cloth. Are you sure that the principal doesn't want all the graduates to have a heat stroke during the outdoor ceremony?" She asked wryly. "It wouldn't surprise me one bit, if that was his plan all along. You know as well as everyone in this town how much the principal advocates trainers only leaving when they're twenty." He shrugged as Violetta giggled. "So this is all part of his elaborate plot to keep all of you here for a bit longer?"

"I wouldn't put it pass my school, yes." He answered honestly as he fixed the tassel from his cap that had fallen onto his eyes. "So, you're really going to leave today?" The girl suddenly started and Volker turned to look back at his sister. "Yeah, I can't wait to start on my Pokemon journey. I'll be going as soon as I see my friends off." Violetta nodded, but said nothing for a while. "Are sure you don't want us not going to send you off at the docks? Because, if you say it then mom and I can-"

"Viola, it's fine." Volker told her, cutting her off midsentence. "My boat leaves late tonight at another town a few hours from New Bark, and you and mom need to get a good night's rest tonight, since you're going to be leaving first thing tomorrow, right? Besides, just you guys going to send me off from this town is already more than enough for me." He told her and she sighed. "You can be really stubborn, you know that?" She asked as Volker chuckled. "That's like the pot calling the kettle black."

* * *

The ceremony was held outside in the blistering summer heat and as expected, most of the graduating students paid little attention to the speeches; that in other circumstances might have been inspirational and/or motivational, in favor of trying to find ways to cool themselves off. Some fanned themselves with their cap while others at the back took off their togas when the teachers weren't looking. Though, it seemed that the faculty and the family members weren't really faring any better.

There was no cooling wind that helped to alleviate the situation throughout the whole ceremony, and it was no little wonder, that as soon as the graduates did the traditional and famous cap toss, most, if not all of them, ended up taking off the heavy togas. "It's finally over." Logan groaned. "Longest two hours of my life, hands down." Van added as she plopped down on one of the chairs that had been set up for the ceremony. "Well a silver lining will always follow a dark cloud." Bailey retorted as she continued to fan herself with her cap.

"Wha?" Logan asked in confusion. "I think she means that after experiencing the worst of the worst, things can only get better for us." Seth supplied helpfully from where he was seated. "That's right, because you guys know what will happen after this, right?" Volker asked with a small grin that the others mirrored. "Yeah we do! We're going to get our first Pokemon!" Logan exclaimed as he quickly stood from where he was seated. "Comm'on guys, times a wastin'! Let's go to the lab!"

"Have you forgotten already Logan, the lab isn't going to open until three in the afternoon since so many new trainers are going to claim their first Pokemon today." Van muttered from where she was and Logan sat back down looking, like he lost his motivation. "Oh yeah." He said before sighing. "By the way, Volk, shouldn't you go help out with the lab since you're one of professor Elm's assistants?" Seth asked as Volker shrugged. "The professor insisted that I not help out on this particular day."

"It's only a quarter past noon, what do you guys want to do while waiting for three?" Bailey asked, and was answered by a new teen with black hair and steel grey eyes. "Going to meet with your family would be a good idea, instead of making them wait." He said and most of the teens turned to see someone familiar walking towards where Logan was, and putting him in a headlock. "Will! Let go of my head!" He screamed, but the older teen didn't budge.

"You brothers are as close as always, I see." Van commented as Logan finally broke free. "W-we are n-not close a-at all! J-just the thought would b-be gross." Logan said while he panted, exhausted from the previous struggle. "For once I agree with Firehead, over here." Will replied before adding. "But like I said little brother, you and your friends can finish your conversation in the restaurant." He said, which caused confused looks to be thrown his way.

"Restaurant?" Volk repeated and when he looked at his friends, shrugs were the only reply to his silent question. "Yup, our families decided that after the ceremony we'd go out and have lunch together out at Caden's Tree." He answered before gesturing to where a crowd of students and family members. "So, hurry and meet up with your families. We're gonna go there directly once everyone meets up." He said before he began to drag Logan towards the crowd, with the other teens following close behind.

Luckily for Volker and Bailey, it was easy for them to find their family members. "I can't believe my little girl has already graduated!" Bailey's father cried as he gave her a hug that made it that she couldn't breathe. "You should let go of Bailey, Aiden. You're literally smothering her." Her mother told him calmly, who had, in turn released his daughter. "Congratulations on graduating from Poke Grad School, Bailey, Volker." She then said as Marina gave her son a tight hug.

"That's right! Congratulations to the both of you!" She told them before letting go of Volker. "Too bad that grandma had that sudden conference. Otherwise, she'd be here as well." Violetta told him right as Logan arrived with his family. "Hey guys! Where's Seth and Van?" He asked. "They're still probably looking for their families." Bailey answered and Logan went over to where his two best friends were while his parents walked to where the other parents were.

"Kaylee, Dylan, with this is the second child you're sending off to a journey." Marina said as the woman, known as Kaylee giggled. "I know right? Sometimes, I can't believe how fast time flies." She said as her husband just nodded. "As for us, this will be the first of three and for Marina the first of two children that we'll be sending off to a Pokemon journey." Bailey's mother commented. "Your younger children aren't here with you today, Emily?" Dylan asked as the woman shook her head.

"The twins were here a little while ago, but they went off with Hailey and Savannah as soon as the ceremony ended." She explained just as Van returned, alone. "It's no use. I couldn't find them anywhere. I'll just wait for them here, since this is the meeting point anyways, so their bound to come here." She said and a few minutes later, Seth appeared with two older teens and two children who immediately ran up to Bailey and began to chat animatedly with her.

"Now that Seth, his sisters and Bailey's younger siblings are here all that's left is-" Logan didn't get a chance to finish as a black and pink blur ran up and held onto Van from behind before lifting her up from the ground. The said teen shrieked in surprise and tried to get the person off of her. "Put me down, Mel!" She screamed as she tried to pry her sister's arm off, but it was like the other girl had an iron grip. "Hahaha, your reactions are always so funny, little sister." Her sister said as she put her down.

"I see you still enjoy teasing your sister, Melissa." One of Seth's sister commented as the other girl grinned at her. "You're right, Hailey! There isn't anything quite as enjoyable as torment- I mean, bonding with Van when I'm in town." She said before adding. "Being an older sister is great isn't it, Savannah?" She said to the girl who stood next to Hailey. "Yup, it's one of the best things in the world!" She answered, and as if to prove her point she gave Seth a fierce hug.

"Mel, this is Van's special day. Don't go making her upset today of all days." A woman who just arrived told the teen before she reluctantly let go of her sister. "Fine, mom. But only for today." She agreed and the woman nodded before going over to her daughters. "Congratulations on graduating, to all of you." She said as Aidan spoke up. "Now that everyone's here, let's head over to the restaurant to get some lunch." He said and the others chorused their agreement.

* * *

Lunch in the restaurant was a merry and slightly raucous affair as stories and conversations were rampant at all parts of the table. "Chloe, Carlos quit throwing peas at each other and eat them properly." Bailey scolded as the twins seemed to sulk a bit. "As expected of our Bailey, you're such a responsible big sister." Logan commented. "Since I am older, I got to keep my siblings from misbehaving...You know, I love them and all, but sometimes I wish I had an older sibling too."

Logan accidentally stabbed his steak with his fork at the words. "No, you've got it wrong Bailey! Having an older sibling is the absolute worst!" He started as he glanced at his older brother who was conversing with Hailey. "No, wait, I take it back. It's just my brother that's the worst." He said as a small piece of carrot was thrown at his cheek. He turned to see who threw it, but everyone seemed to be acting normal, or at least none of them looked like they had just thrown a piece of carrot at him.

But one look at his brother's plate that was full of carrot was all it took for him to know who did it. "Yup, definitely the worst." Logan concluded as he threw a piece of corn at Will, who managed to dodge it and smirked at him. "I hate to admit it Bailey, but Logan's right. Not everyone is as lucky to get good older siblings who don't torture their younger siblings." Van added as she looked at Seth. "Chloe, Carlos and Seth are the lucky ones." She said wistfully before sighing.

"If it's any consolation, my older sisters still drag me around the town every once in a while." Seth said as Van sighed again. "But that's because they want to spend time with you, it's completely different to when my sister dragged me out of bed at four in the morning and made me go with her to the forest just because she wanted to see the sunrise. There's a fine line between affection, which your sisters show, and torment, which my sister shows."

"Touché." Seth conceded as Volker piped up. "Hey Van, you should've also counted Viola as well. I'm a great older brother." He said as his friends stopped eating for a bit to regard him. "What?" Volker asked slightly unnerved at the stares he was getting. "You're halfway there. I'll give you that." Van finally said and just as Volker was about to protest to that. An excited squeal was heard from the other side of the table, which got everyone's attention.

It turns out that it came from Logan's mom before she began to bombard Van's mom with questions. "What's his name? Where did you two meet? When did you two meet? Emma! You got to tell us all the details!" She squealed and most of the teens could only watch the exchange in confusion. "Care to fill us in, Van?" Seth asked and said teen shrugged. "It's probably just about my mom's new boyfriend." She answered simply. "What, you don't like him?" Logan asked.

"I guess he's ok. But it gets really annoying to see them act all lovey dovey together." She continued with a shudder which the others mirrored. "Your no-nonsense mom acting lovey dovey? I can't imagine it." Volker told them as a new person joined the conversation. "I know right? When Van first told me that our tough as nails mom was doing date clichés, I didn't believe her until I came back and saw it for myself." Melissa piped up from where she was across them as she fixed her bangs.

"By the way you guys, what do you think about my hair?" There was a moment of silence before she got several answers from the group. "It looks nice." "It suits your personality." "You look like a freak and completely unprofessional." "It's pink?" "Your hair matches with your sense of style." Melissa laughed at the answers she got. "Three of you gave me positive response to the pink streaks in my hair, which is good enough, I guess."

"But you calling me a freak was more than a bit rude, little sister." She told her as a sly smile then appeared on her lips, that didn't bode well for her sister. "You don't think I'm a freak because I have pink highlights now do you, Volk?" She asked as she looked at the teen who was seated next to her sister. "No, of course not. Like I said earlier, the pink looks nice with your black hair." He replied which caused her smile to grow a bit. "Why thank you, Volk. You're always such a sweetie, Van could learn a thing or two from you."

Van glared at her then, but the older teen paid it no mind. "I can't believe you're actually studying how to be a Pokemon researcher with how you are." Melissa grinned at that. "Well, looks can be deceiving." She said before continuing. "But if it comes down to job choices, I don't think I have the most surprising one." The teens sitting next to her then turned to look at her. "I'll take it that you were referring to us, Mel." Will said as he frowned. "My job choice isn't surprising at all."

"Lies!" Logan cried out from opposite him, which prompted the older teen to glare at him. "I can't even imagine someone like you working at the Safari Zone. I think that instead of poachers, they'd be more scared of you." Will twitched as he tried from going across the table to hit his brother. "You're so gonna get it after lunch." He told him as he gave a look that promised his brother a lot of pain and Logan gulped. But fortunately for Logan, Seth spoke up which caused everyone, even Will's attention to shift.

"I don't think my sisters' job choices are really that surprising. Hailey became a Pokemon preschool teacher, while Savannah works for an animation company, just like they told me they'd be when we were younger." Hailey and Savannah giggled at that. "As expected from our little brother, you still remember the things we told you when were still kids." Savannah exclaimed. "But he's right, they can't be that surprising since you, yourself Mel, told us that our job choices were fitting for us." Hailey added.

* * *

After lunch which ended at exactly two o'clock, they all headed to the direction of the lab, because no one wanted to be late today of all days. But of course they didn't wait outside the lab, and instead killed time at the New Bark Park that was just right across from the lab. They only went to the lab when there was only fifteen minutes left before three, and the professor had come out to place a sign that read that if the new trainers wanted a Pokemon, they should line up properly.

The group took that as their cue to start lining up, before everyone else got there. This proved to be a good call because many new trainers started to show up once the ten minute mark was reached. It was probably one of the longest ten minute wait experienced by the group, but those minutes did eventually reached its end and the first seven trainers in the line were allowed inside. While their children/siblings were inside, the family members stayed behind at the park and waited for them to come out.

It took a good twenty five minutes before the group came up with matching smiles as they went back to the park. Logan wasted no time showing off his Cyndaquil to his family, while Van had also called out her own Cyndaquil at her sister's prodding. Bailey's Chikorita, had been an instant hit with her younger siblings while both Seth and his Totodile were immediately glomped and cuddled, respectively by his older sisters.

"So, which one did you pick?" Violetta asked as she looked at the Pokeball in her brother's hand. Volker grinned in response before calling his first Pokemon out, which caused looks of surprise and delight to appear on his mother and sister's faces. "It's a Totodile!" Violetta exclaimed as she bent down and started to pet the Big Jaw Pokemon, who seemed to like it, if the happy noises it made were any indication. "I think you made a great choice, but what made you decide on Totodile?" Marina asked.

"I love all three starters of Johto, but I guess Wani-wani made a bigger impression on me than I thought." He admitted sheepishly, which caused both women to laugh. "I'm sure he'll be very happy to hear that when I tell him later." Marina said as she got something from the inner pocket of her white blazer and held it out to her son, which he took. But when he looked at it, he realized that what he was holding was a shrunken Pokeball and a small piece of folded paper. "What are these, mom?"

"It's from your father, and I don't think I need to tell you from which one." She said as a look of surprise appeared on Volker's face as he stared at what was in his hand in amazement, like they were gold nuggets and rare fossils. This caused Marina to giggle a bit, while Violetta looked at the items with curiosity. "It's a gift and message from him, since you're starting on your Pokemon journey today." She explained as Volker opened the folded paper to read the message that was written inside.

What was written made him snort in laughter. "Hey, what's so funny Volk? What did your dad write?" Violetta asked as the male shook his head. "Really funny sounding fatherly advice, "Beware of girls with bikes and keep said bikes away from Electric types", whatever that means." This prompted a look of confusion from Violetta and Marina burst out laughing. "Mom?" Volker called as Marina shook her head. "It's based personal experience, it may be strange, but you should heed it, regardless."

* * *

After saying their goodbyes to their families, the group of teens set off to the edge of town, which led them to a fork in the road. "Well, this is where we part." Volker said as he looked at the sign that read, "right Hydrangea town, Left Cherry Grove City". "Oh that's right; your boat is at Hydrangea town. Shame there aren't any docks in New Bark or we could have sent you off first." Bailey said as Volker grinned. "But you guys are sending me off from here, just like how I'm sending you guys off."

"I guess you could say that, but don't forget to drop a line every once in a while." Van told him and he nodded. "Best of luck to you then in Hoenn, Volk." Seth told him as they fist bumped. "Yeah, to you guys too, here in Johto." He replied and Logan spoke up. "Since we're both aiming for the top, the next time we see each other, we got to at least get a bit closer to our goal." He said and Volker smirked. "No need to state the obvious, dude."

* * *

After saying their parting words Volker broke off from the group, and they went in completely different directions. The road to Hydrangea town was more or less a straight path through a plain, and the walk would last around three hours. As Volk trekked on he noticed a couple of Pokemon around, mostly Pidgeys, with the occasional Sentret and Ratata. But he didn't really have an urge to capture them, and just observed them as he continued to walk onwards.

But then he remembered the Pokeball that had been given to him by his real dad, and stopped for a second to get it from his belt. As he examined it, he couldn't see anything different about it, but he did wonder what was inside. While he wanted to know what it was, he decided to save it instead for when he reached Hydrangea town. The rest of the journey was pretty uneventful, and made him wish that he was travelling with his friends instead; it would have been more fun that way.

When he finally reached Hydrangea town, it was a little past six thirty and he immediately noticed all the lights and decorations around the town. When he arrived at the Pokemon center, Nurse Joy had helpfully explained that the town was currently celebrating their summer festival and told him that he should visit the festival grounds, if he had the time. While there was enough time before his boat ride, he decided to set his priorities straight and set out to find food for him and his Pokemon first.

But before he entered the dining area, he took out the shrunken Pokeball that his dad gave him and enlarged it. It took him only a few more seconds of pondering, before he decided to throw the ball up in the air to call out the creature inside. Once the light died down, it showed a small, blue, reptilian Pokemon. The creature was bipedal and its head also sports a crest-like formation of three thick gray ridges that continue as a slope down its back.

"Bay, Bay, Bagon! Bay." It cried out as Volker's eyes lit up. "Hey there, little fella. I guess it's safe to assume that you're a Bagon, right?" He greeted as he bent down on one knee, to get a closer look at his new Pokemon. "Bay!" It cried out and Volker chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes. I heard about a Pokemon called Bagon before, but it's the first time I'm seeing a real one!" He exclaimed as he held out a hand out to the small Pokemon, which caused the Bagon to look at him in confusion. "Bay?"

"It's nice to meet you Bagon. My name's Volker and from now on, I'll be your trainer. Let's both work hard and rise to the very top, ok?" He said as the Bagon went closer and put one of its stubby arms in his hand. "Bagon!" It cried out, which prompted him to chuckle again. "Looks like my dad got me a really feisty one." He said as he began to pet his Pokemon before standing. "Now how about we get some dinner, that sound like a good idea to you?"

After getting an enthusiastic cry in agreement from Bagon, the two of them headed to the dining room where Volker called out his Totodile and after both blue Pokemon were introduced to each other, they then proceeded to have dinner. After it was finished, Volker returned both of his Pokemon and headed out of the center to go the festival grounds. There he saw a lot of game booths and stalls that sold from a wide range of food to Pokemon cards and collectibles.

But what really took the crowd's attention were two events that were happening simultaneously. The first was an unofficial Pokemon contest that was taking place in a large tent that was set up in one side of the festival grounds. The second was a Pokemon battle tournament that was being held in an open air battle field on the opposite side. As Volker was more naturally inclined to battles, he chose to watch the tournament instead which was already down to the semi finals match.

An hour and a half later and the battles were over and after sticking around to watch the winner be given a small trophy and a ticket as a prize, Volker decided that it be best that he headed to the pier. The time now was already nine o' five, and his boat left at quarter to ten. The walk to the pier was pretty short, it only lasted for fifteen minutes but once Volker arrived there he was surprised to find it bustling with activity at this late at night.

But then again, considering Hydrangea town was a port town, it wasn't strange that the docks would be really busy even late onto the night. He then started to look for the boat called the St. Camilla. But it wasn't all that easy, considering the fact that there were around twenty boats currently docked at the pier. But just as he was examining the second boat, he suddenly heard the sound of metal grinding, that was somehow familiar to him, but he just couldn't quite place the sound.

It was only when he heard a cry of "Out of the way!", did he turn around and was met with the source of the sound. It was a girl, no, to be even more precise, it was on a girl who was on a bike that was speeding towards his way. "No way." This was the only thing he could say as his eyes widened and he tried to sidestep to avoid the incoming projectile, but it was all for naught as the girl who looked like she couldn't control her bike flailed her arms and accidentally pushed him when she passed.

It was just not Volker's day as he had just happened to be standing near the edge of the docks and he ended up falling into the waters. He spluttered and coughed as he surfaced, and fortunately for him, he knew how to swim. But that didn't change the fact that the water was absolutely freezing and he hurriedly tried to swim closer to the edge. But once he did, a pale hand extended to him and he looked up to see a teen with long blond hair and eyes that were the same blue as the sky.

"You ok, there?" She asked as he took her hand and began helping him to get out of the water. "I've had better times." He answered simply. "You sure gave me a surprise. Here I was, walking at the docks when I suddenly hear a big splash, and when I look to see what had caused it; I find a person had fallen into the water." She told him as she took one look at him and frowned. "I don't suppose that this is a new form of night swimming, is it Mr…" She trailed of as Volker wringed out his jacket.

"Of course not. Some girl on a bike accidently pushed me in. My name's Volker, by the way." He told her. "I can't believe that guy's advice was actually applicable." He muttered in a soft voice that only he could hear. What he didn't notice was how the sky blue eyes had lit up in delight when he said his name, but when he looked back up at the taller girl, it was already replaced with a calm expression. "That's rather unfortunate then. But you should probably get changed; otherwise you'll end up getting sick."

"That's a good idea, but do you know a place that I can? The Pokemon Center is too far away. If I go there, I won't make it back in time for my boa-Ah!" He cried out as he hurriedly brought out something from his jacket pocket. As expected, it was completely wet, to the point that it was now soggy. But the worst has got to be that the ink had begun to run, making what was previously printed, unreadable now. "I hope that I'm wrong when I assume that's your ticket for a boat ride."

Volker sighed as he gave a small nod. "Unfortunately, you're right with your assumption. I guess there's no choice, I'll have to go back to the center tonight and I'll probably try to get another ride tomorrow." He said as his companion's face turned thoughtful. "Maybe you don't need to." She told him, which caused him to look at her in confusion. She then took out something from her pocket and looked at it. "Your boat wouldn't be the St. Camilla that leaves at nine forty five, would it?" She asked.

Volker's eyes widened. "Yeah, that's it. But how did you know?" He asked as she offered him a small, but warm smile. "I didn't, I just read off this ticket. But since this is the ticket to the right boat, then you can have it." She told him as he raised his hand in protest. "I can't accept that, if I do, then what about you?" But the girl only chuckled. "You're pretty considerate, but don't worry. I wasn't planning on taking the boat ride, anyways. I just got this ticket as a prize from the festival. So don't worry about it."

"If anything, you'll be doing me a favor since this ticket would just be wasted, otherwise." She explained as she offered him the ticket, which he took with a slightly exasperated sigh. "It's hardly a favor, considering how much you're helping me." He replied as a small grin appeared on his face. "You call me considerate, but you're pretty kind yourself, uhm…" He said as he scratched the back of his head. "You never did tell me your name, Miss."

"It's Mavis." The girl now known as Mavis answered gently as she stole a glance at her Xtranceiver. "Goodness! You should probably go and look for your boat now. It won't matter if you have a ticket or not, if you can't make it there in five minutes." She told him as she showed him the time which prompted him to hastily thank her before he started running forward, only stopping when he was already some distance away from her before turning to shout something to her.

"Thanks again for the ticket, Mavis! I definitely won't forget this! If we ever meet again, I'll treat you to lunch or something, to properly thank you!" He then gave her a wave before he sprinted off again and a small fond smile appeared on Mavis' face as she waved back. But once she could no longer see his running figure she took her Xtranceiver and started to make a call to a familiar number. Once the other person on the other end of the line picked up, an image was shown.

It was of a slightly tan, and handsome man who looked rather tired. "Hello, Mavis. Is something wrong?" But Mavis only shook her head. "No, everything's fine. But I just wanted to tell you something interesting... Oh, you don't look very good. Are you feeling unwell?" She asked him and he shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Just having a bit of trouble." He answered and she pursed her lips together in a straight line. "Is it about work?"

But the man just shook his head. "Nope, it's not. But nonetheless, I plan on resolving it as fast as possible." He said in a determined tone and she offered him a kind smile. "Well, don't worry about it too much. I'm sure things will work out. They usually do when you're involved, approximately two out of three times." She told him and he sighed. "Thanks Mavis, I guess. But I would have appreciated your words of wisdom more if you hadn't said the last part."

"But that's what really makes those statements accurate." She happily replied and the man on the other end of the line twitched slightly. He then coughed before addressing her in a lighter tone. "Anyways, moving on from that topic. You said that you called to tell me something interesting?" He asked as she nodded. "That's right, here I was at Hydrangea town and I meet someone I didn't expect to see for at least a couple more years. It is truly amazing how small the world can get!"

"Oh? And just who pray tell, did you see there?" He asked. "Volker!" She answered happily as the man's eyes widened and his jaw went slightly slack. "Volker?! You met him, Mavis?!" The said teen just nodded her head before answering. "I did, he's a lot like how you described him. But he was unexpectedly more alike to you than I thought." A look that looked like a cross between curiosity and confusion then appeared on the man's face at that. "In what way?"

"He's supposed to start on his journey today, right?" She asked and when he nodded she continued. "But on his very first day he apparently got pushed into the water by a girl on a bike; and as a result, his ticket was destroyed. It's amazing how much he resembles you!" She exclaimed as the man fought the urge to face palm. "Mavis, I think you're under the mistaken impression that those are things to be proud of." He told her and the teen chuckled. "I just said you were alike, I never said that it was for good reasons."

"You... I'm not even going to start. So, since his ticket was destroyed, I take it that his journey to Hoenn will be postponed?" He asked as a genuine look of confusion suddenly appeared on her face. "Hoenn, not Unova?" She asked as the man frowned. "I'm sure it's Hoenn. Marina herself told me that he bought a ticket to Hoenn online." He answered, as an uneasy feeling suddenly settled in his gut. "Why would you think that he was headed to Unova?"

"Well, since his ticket was destroyed, I gave him a ticket I had won as a prize at the Hydrangea town summer festival…" She started before continuing. "I read off the boat's name and its departure time, which was exactly five minutes ago, and even Volker said that they were the exactly the same as his boat..." She paused then before adding with slight hesitation. "...But I'm absolutely certain that it said trip to Unova, and not to Hoenn." She finished, and there was silence. Then for the second time that day the man shouted in shock.

"What did you say?!"

* * *

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